Sometimes things don’t always work out the way we plan—or hope, pray or beg.

Like the time I organized a romantic weekend away with my then boyfriend, who ended up with a serious bout of food poisoning. Nothing says romance more than hearing your partner’s projective vomit splash around the toilet bowl all night. So not-hot-right-now.

Last month I planned a winter escape to Fiji. Sydney had been bitterly cold and I was looking forward to a week of sunshine, relaxation and ocean swims. Unfortunately, I arrived at my tropical destination greeted with grey skies, rain and a forecast of showers for the rest of the week. “Fuck my life” was my first thought and instant (over) reaction.

We’re all constantly being tested, pushed and pulled by our environment. These can range from the smallest of annoyances or epic, large-scale life changing moments. There are so many things that I have absolutely no control over, but the thing that I can alter is my attitude and my perspective.

How we react to situations and events is a great mirror to where we’re giving our energy and where we waste much of our time and focus. I’ve always been taught to look at difficulties as teachings or lessons, rather than problems laced with disillusionment. This is much easier to do with the power of hindsight, but in the moment it can be tough and I know I can be reactive.

Over the last few months, I’ve come to realize that the universe has an incredible sense of humor, miracles happen and things always work out—often better than what we could have planned, or hoped for. Occasionally you just have to surrender and trust in the flow.

Believe that there’s an opportunity in every moment to let your inner good come out.

When my boyfriend had food poisoning, I stayed up with him, cared for him and held his hand whilst he vomited. It wasn’t romantic, nor was it sexy but it felt good be able to care for someone who means the world to me.

When I saw the forecast of rain through the duration of my tropical holiday, I chose to get proactive; I decided to see the opportunity in the situation. So I created a list of fun, all-weather-friendly activities I could do and started to plan the rest of my week around that.

And you know what, the Fiji Meteorology Dept. got it wrong. After all my bitching and moaning, and all that huffing and puffing—the sun came out. It was blue skies and smooth sailing for the rest of the week. I got the winter escape that I’d been dreaming about—just not in the way I originally planned.

So yes, sometimes things don’t always work out the way we plan—but that’s perfectly OK too.

Tanya Maria Mah is a designer, an occasional seeker of all things true, a yogi, a hippie (not a hipster), a teeny-tiny disco dancer, a sometimes-cook and an eternal optimist. She can be creative, is frequently inappropriate and aspires for inspiration. When asked for a bio she Facebook polled her friends for one word that describes her and they came up with the following: loves hearts, crazy (this was mentioned a few times!), sunshine, bubbly, meatball, mcskank (personal joke), excitable, spunky monkey, delicious, pixie and charismatically crazy (a new spin on an old favorite!) To get in touch, please email tanya.maria.mah@gmail.com.

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[…] Trust yourself, trust in the natural flow of life and trust the unknown. From this space, decisions are made in your gut. It simply will not occur to you to make them from anywhere else, so get comfortable with yourself. […]